News

Last  Sunday the BBC’s Songs of Praise came from the New Wine event that Chris Puckrin and the Thompson family have just returned from.

Richard Thompson says “it would be ace if more folk from Moortown could come together for this, and as this year was fully booked up it’s worth booking for next summer’s event as soon as places are available in September.

If you are interested I’m sure Richard, Kathryn or Chris will be more than happy to give you more information.

Leeds Mind, Leeds Citizens and Beacon Wellbeing are planning three sessions of training on mental health awareness. 

Day 1: General understanding, key causes, symptoms, diagnoses and support options  

Day 2: Recognising distress, communication, signposting, helping people in
distress feel safe, supported and understood.

Day 3: More advanced, including suicide awareness

Dates and venue are yet to be confirmed. However, if you are interested please see Linsey King.

Are you going away on holiday this summer? If you are then why not share a special memory with us by emailing your favourite holiday snaps to mbcholidaypics@gmail.com

As they come in we’ll pop the images  into a special on line gallery on the MBC website. So what ever you have lined up, be it a luxury cruise round the Caribbean, a heart pumping hike around the Lake District or a day trip to Brid don’t forget to take a camera or a phone and share your experiences.

And remember this isn’t a competition. In fact think of it more as sending a postcard to a friend. So anything goes… from evocative sunsets and dramatic seascapes to embarrassing selfies.

Fair Trade – the Social Premium.

By creation we mean the world that we live in, including all life and all of our fellow human beings. The Western world has developed a model where the greatest volume of high-value trade is between the rich countries of the “first world”. The American firm Walmart has an annual turnover greater than 80% of the countries in the world. Large deals are struck which can exclude small farmers and food producers in the “third world” from large markets in the developed world. As we know, in the developed world many large supermarket chains bring pressure to bear on their suppliers to keep prices low, and because of their size they have enormous economic ‘clout’. As we know, this makes life difficult for dairy farmers in the UK, and it also makes life very difficult for food producers in the poorer parts of the world. The smaller producers have a struggle to make a living from their produce,

We live in a world where financial de-regulation and the policies of neoliberalism have led to increasing inequity. The richer countries have exploited poorer nations and this is a situation that is not sustainable in the long term. There is a need to redress the balance, and this is where “Fair Trade” comes in. The Fair Trade movement exists to ensure that growers and producers of various goods from third world countries can obtain a fair price for their food and other products. Fair Trade goods are priced slightly higher than most goods sold via the large supermarket chains. However, purchase of Fair trade items ensures that these producers obtain a fair price for their efforts, rather than going to inflate the balance sheet of a rich, first world corporation. This small increase in price can be regarded as the social premium.

The important point about this social premium is that not only does some of the extra go the farmers who produced the food, but the profits also go to benefit the communities to which the farmers belong. 

 What can we do?

• Some of the large supermarket chains have begun selling Fair Trade items. For example, quite a few supermarkets sell Fair Trade bananas and other items. When you shop at your local supermarket, look out for the Fair Trade logo, and purchase their items.
• Several times a year, Roger Robson organizes a sale of Fair Trade goods in the meeting area after Sunday morning worship.
• Support the Beehive shop in Chapel Allerton, located at:

              67, Potternewton Lane,

              Leeds,

              LS7 3LW.

• Other large corporations dealing with the developing world are beginning to adopt more sustainable and community-friendly methods, and your support for Fair Trade will help encourage this trend.

These are all small but important steps that we can all take towards bringing about a more equitable and sustainable future for our world.

John Sturges                 j.sturges@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Julia Hyliger                   julia.hyliger@hotmail.co.uk

Most people will now be aware of the terms ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Global Warming’, and of the link to Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the burning of fuel. Many people will also have heard of the Volkswagen (VW) diesel “emissions scandal”, where VW cars are fitted with engine management software that ensures that when emissions testing is carried out the engines produce far lower emissions than when the vehicle is in normal daily use on the road. Only this week (July 19^th 2017), Mercedes have also owned up to similar practice, issuing notices to owners of their diesel cars to bring them in for engine software modification.  Other car manufacturers have issued similar statements since the VW story emerged. There are now multi-million dollar lawsuits in progress on both sides of the Atlantic as a result of this. All over the world, air quality is increasingly seen as very important, so how did we get into the present impasse?

Beginning in around 1990, people were actively encouraged to purchase cars with diesel-engines because diesel fuel burns more efficiently than normal petrol, thereby emitting less carbon dioxide via the exhaust. In an international effort to reduce CO₂ emissions many governments around the world sought to reduce these emissions by lowering the taxes on diesel fuel to encourage people to buy diesel cars. They have succeeded to the extent that just over half of all cars in the UK are now diesel-powered. However, the current problem arises from the fact that CO₂ is not the only emission from diesel engines, they also emit a lot of tiny aerosol sized (1 micron down to I nanometre diameter) particles, which are too tiny to be visible and which are easily inhaled. These particles are of oxides of nitrogen and of carbon black (soot). Because they are so tiny, they do not quickly settle out, and can remain airborne for hours and days. It is these tiny particles that are the cause of current concern. Note that while cars with petrol engines emit more CO₂ they do not produce the harmful oxides of nitrogen and carbon black that diesels do. In the meantime, manufacturers of petrol engines have made them considerably more efficient, further eroding the perceived advantage of diesels. So it is specifically diesel engine emissions that cause this problem.

These fine particles are known to exacerbate problems with asthma and can cause respiration difficulties, and also be a causal factor in heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer. There is special concern about the effects on young children who may be exposed to them, as diesel fumes are particularly harmful to babies and young children whose lungs and respiratory systems are still developing. Therefore a lot of diesel-powered vehicles outside school gates with engines running can very quickly cause a local pollution ‘hot spot’ where levels of particulates can reach way beyond what is deemed to be safe for humans, and especially children, to breathe. The air quality in many large cities falls well below ideal levels, and a good deal of this is attributed to diesel fumes.

What can we do?

• If possible, walk your children to school
• If you have a diesel car, and run children to school, do not leave the engine running while you drop them off.
• If you have a diesel car, do not leave the engine running outside supermarkets, bus stations, rail stations or anywhere where you have to wait for any length of time.  
• When you change your car, get one with a petrol-engine, or better still, a hybrid. These are becoming more available and affordable

John Sturges          j.sturges@leedsbeckett.ac.uk;

Julia Hyliger           julia.hyliger@hotmail.com;

 

 

 

Join us for some Summer fun after the service on Sunday 16 July. Bring and share lunch (please bring enough for yourself and some to share). There will also be games and craft. Please can all food be delivered to the Sports Hall before the service starts. Please feel free to bring any board games you and your family enjoy. Lets get Summer of to a great start!